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6/15/2020

2 Peter 1:5-7 “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.” (NIV)

“No man is born naturally or supernaturally with character, he has to make character. Nor are we born with habits; we have to form habits on the basis of the new life God has put into us.” ~ Oswald Chambers

Character is something developed as we grow and learn; this, of course, can go either in an affirming positive way, or an aggressive negative way. I believe that some of what makes character is nature, but a lot of it is nurture.  We are all products of our upbringing and environment. Some parents do very well with very little, and some parents do very poorly with much, and of course the opposite is also true. The same can be said for habits. For example, if a child is raised with a good work ethic, he/she will probably develop a habit of not procrastinating and bringing tasks to completion. Conversely, if a child is never taught how to persevere, he/she will more than likely develop the habit of giving up when something becomes challenging.

So what does God expect of His children and their character? In the daily routines of life, as well as its highs and lows, God wants us to make every effort to build on those traits stated in 2 Peter 1:5-7. Even if these things do not come to us naturally or through nurturing, we are still called to add them. As I read these words, especially in today’s volatile climate, I cannot help but think about how we Christians are called to be different, aliens of this world. Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love are not what gets attention, but they are traits and habits that, if added together as habitual acts, could change the world.